For a number of years I have been researching English and Manx Lullabies. As well as re-arranging them for lever harp I have also been digging into their various histories. The background of this particular Manx lullaby, which is so popular with choirs has been largely unknown – until now! In due course an arrangement of this tune on harp will be released on Band Camp as part of my forthcoming traditional lullabies album release. For now you can find Jake narrating the research over my interpretation of Louisa Wood’s 1896 piano arrangement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li0xjFLWxcg&feature=youtu.be

N.B: After launching this video new sources were brought to my attention by Chloe Wolley at Culture Vannin. The text below is therefore more accurate than the video narration.

The History:

You may have heard a beautiful lullaby arranged for choirs with the title ‘A Manx Lullaby’ and the opening lyrics ‘Oh Hush Thee My Dove, Oh Hush Thee my Rowan.’

There is a bit of confusion about where this beautiful song came from, thankfully through the historical digging of Manx expert Stephen Miller and help from Chloe Woolley at Culture Vannin we know where this melody came from. Full references and other links can be found at the bottom of this article.

This lullaby melody was circulating in the Isle of Man in the 1890s. It was collected from two singers from Peel a small fishing town on the West coast of the Island of Man. Those singers were Mary Ann Gawne and James Morrison (p.104 ‘Cradle Song’) and it was noted by collected W.H.Gill that it was sung by a third – John Kissack from Jurby 20km further north (p.104 ‘Cradle Song’ – note). A copy was made of Kissack’s words, which now appear to be lost.

In the 1881 census Mary Ann Gawne is recorded as being a housekeeper and in the 1891 census she is recorded as living in one room where she worked as a net finisher presumably for the fishing trade. Baptised on the 10^th of November 1850 in the parish of Patrick she died in 1906, aged 56, she is not recorded as marrying or having children, but she was a noted singer in both Manx and English. James Morrison was the Harbour Master at Peel, in W.H. Gill’s manuscript copy of Morrison’s tune the title is given as ‘Cradle Song (Oh Hush Thee, My Babie)’ (p.104).

In 1896 this beautiful lullaby melody was published in two different books – Arthur William Moore’s Manx Ballads and Musicand William Henry Gill’s Manx National Songs with English Words.

In Moore’s book you can find the tune simply titled as a ‘Lullaby’ with no lyrics and no accreditation. However, if you scour the ‘introduction to Music’ you will find a credit to ‘Miss Mary Gawne’ (p.xxxiv) curiously it is also indicated that the tune was sung to English lyrics, were these the same as that sung by Kissack? We do not know, for we do not have a record of either – perhaps one day a set might come to light.

Much of Moore’s music, presumably also including this lullaby, was arranged for piano by Mary Louisa Wood, she was an indomitable force in the musical scene in the Isle of Mann, where a plaque in her honour describes her as ‘The Mother of Manx Music’. It is an adaption of Mary Louisa Wood’s piano arrangement which Chloe is currently playing on the lever harp.

In Manx National Songs with English Words the piano arrangement was composed by William Henry Gill, in it the tune has the title ‘Oh Hush Thee, My Babie’ which is noted as being a ‘Arrane ny Clean’ – Manx for cradle song.

Confusingly both the lyrics and the title in Gill’s publication are taken from Walter Scott’s poem ‘Lullaby of an Infant Chief’which were first published in his 1815 novel Guy Mannering. Scott’s poem was set to music multiple times throughout the 19^th century, the most famous arrangement being by Arthur Sullivan. In the introduction Mr Gill made clear that the marriage between Scott’s words and this melody were his own:

‘Whatever may be the origin of this charming Cradle Song, it is so irresistibly suggestive of Scott’s well known words “O, Hush thee my babie” that the present alliance of words and music hardly needs an apology even to Sir Athur Sullivan’.

Scott’s lyrics commence sweetly with ‘Oh Hush Thee My Babie thy sire was a knight’, but rapidly descend into bloodshed and end with the chilling ‘For strife comes with manhood, and waking with day.’ Gill did allow himself some Manxification of the lyrics adding to Scott’s words ‘Oh horo hi ri ri cadul gu lo’ with a translation in the footnotes Sleep on till day’. These Manx additions are part of the most musically theatrical part of the arrangement, which has several unusual features including the tune transposed to a higher octave, a long 7 beat extended note, and a distinct short final phase which ends on the third rather than tonic.

Gill’s arrangement must have had some popularity. Thanks to the Manx National Heritage Channel you can find on Youtube a 1948 audio recording of traditional Manx singer Madge Watterson. She is singing in Manx what appears to be Gill’s arrangement of Scott’s poem, she apparently learnt this from her mother.

In 1961 the tune was re-published yet again, this time with the lyrics associated with the tune today, or most of them. The book is The Children’s Song Book, and the composer is the prolific Hertfordshire born Elizabeth Poston. Poston was president of The Society of Women Musicians between 1955–1961 and remains a respected composer and arranger.

In The Children’s Song Book the credit for ‘Lullaby’ is ‘Traditional Manx Lullaby Tune arr. Elizabeth Poston’ and the lyrics given are:

“Oh hush thee my dove, Oh hush thee my rowan, Oh hush thee my lapwing, my little brown bird; Oh fold thy wings and seek thy nest now, Oh shine the berry on the bright tree: The bird is home from the mountain and valley, Oh hush thee my birdie, my pretty dearie.”

Poston’s inspiration was probably Louisa Wood’s arrangement as they share the same key – E flat Major, and there are none of Gill’s theatrical flourishes as can be found in his B Minor arrangement.

Poston’s version found favour with the BBC, featuring in a ‘Rhythm and Melody’ episode which was broadcast between 17^th January and 28^th of March 1963. A melody only version was published in the BBC’s accompanying booklet, with a back cover credit ‘Manx Lullaby, English Version by Elizabeth Poston’ and a reference to The Children’s Song Book.

Poston’s version was subsequently adapted for choirs by the Canadian composer Lori-Anne Dolloff. In 1997 she published a version for unison choir and piano as ‘Manx Lullaby’. As well as Poston’s version it would seem that Dolloff also had access to Gill’s arrangement as she made the sensible decision to scrap Poston’s slightly mediocre last line ‘O hush thee my birdie, my pretty dearie’ and replace it with the Manx inducement to sleep published by Gill’s ‘Horo hi ri ri” and Cadul gu lo’. It is Dolloff’s arrangement which appears to be the most popular on online lyric websites today. However if you want to credit the right people for this beautiful song why not try: Lyrics by Elizabeth Poston, Tune collected from Mary Ann Gawne and James Morrison of Peel, Isle of Man.

Thanks for getting to the end! If you want to be updated regarding my latest lullaby news and related research drop me a line to be added to my Lullaby e-mailing list 🙂

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Stephen Miller, Chloe Woolley at Culture Vannin and Tiffany Hore at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Libary.

References: (All links correct as of 16/7/2026)

Fenella Bazin. “Mary Louisa Wood”. Biography. From ‘New Manx Worthies’, Manx Heritage Foundation/Culture Vannin, 2006. Manxmusic.com. Available at: https://www.manxmusic.com/history/biographies/wood-mary-louisa-1839-1925/

BBC. Sound Broadcasts to Schools: Rhythm and Melody Spring Term 1963. London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1963.

Boosey & Hawkes, Elizabeth Poston. (1905-1987). Available at: https://www.boosey.com/composer/Elizabeth+Poston

W.H.Gill, Manx National Songs. London:Boosey and Co., 1896. pp.76-77. Available at: https://archive.org/details/manxnationalsong00gill/page/n3/mode/2up

W.H.Gill, The Original Collection of Manx Folk Music Completed in 1895 and 1896. See ‘Cradle Song’ p.104. https://manxmusic.com//media/History%20photos/Gill%20Collection%20Complete%20MS09702.pdf.

Stephen Miller: ‘“My book of Manx ballads at last published”; A. W. Moore’s “Manx Ballads and Music” (1896)’ Folk Music Journal, 2012-01, Vol.10 (2), p.207-233

Stephen Miller, ‘”Miss Gawne”: Mary Gawne as Singer’, Manx Notes, 29 (2004), pp.1-3. Available at: https://chiollaghbooks.com/manxnotes/MN029.pdf

Stephen Miller: ‘The Gill Brothers as Collectors’ (7): The Singers. Manx Notes, 57 (2006), pp.1-3. Available at: https://chiollaghbooks.com/manxnotes/MN057.pdf  

Stephen Miller, Manx Folk Songs: From A.W.Moore’s “Manx Ballads and Music (1896)” Mannin: Chiollagh Books, 1994. Available at: https://chiollaghbooks.com/chiollaghbooksfirstseries/CBPOD01%20S.pdf

A.W.Moore, Manx Ballads and Music. Isle of Man, Douglas: J&R Johnson, 1896. pp.228-229, p.xxxiv. Available at: https://archive.org/details/ManxBalladsAndMusic

Oxfordshire History Centre, ‘Papers Relating to Elizabeth Poston, 1961-1987. Available at: https://heritagesearch.oxfordshire.gov.uk/records/P143/3

Elizabeth Poston, The Children’s Song Book. London:  Bodley Head, 1961.

Madge Watterson, Manx language and dialect archive recordings: Skeealyn Vannin Disk 3 Track 13. Made by the Irish Folklore Commission in 1948. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOcSQGB4gwY 

Blog post last edited 14/8/2026

Photo of Rowan Tree, and BBC Sound Broadcast in Schools by Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe